In much younger days I was working on a construction site and made a major mistake. I was scared to tell my boss. But when I did, he quickly put me at ease when he said, "Well, Dick, the fellow who never made a mistake never made anything." And we fixed my mistake without any fuss or bother.

How different are negative people who are constantly looking for pegs on whichto hang their anger, bitterness, and negativity. They complain about the weather, their boss, their health, and everything else they can think of to gripe about, and they never lack for ways to criticize others.

As John W. Stott said in his book, Christian Counterculture, "The censorious critic is the fault-finder who is negative and destructive towards other people and enjoys actively seeking out their failures. He puts the worst possible construction on their motives, pours cold water on their schemes, and is ungenerous towards their mistakes." Not very flattering—to put it mildly.

Actually negative complainers are angry people. Instead of facing their anger and negative feelings realistically and resolving them, they project them onto others and express them in hurtful and destructive ways. They are not nice people to be around. So, whenever you and I are being over-critical, let's examine our own heart to see what it is in us that needs to be faced, confronted and resolved.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please deliver me from the sin of grumbling and complaining. Whenever I am tempted to criticize bitterly and have a negative attitude, help me to look into my heart and see why I am feeling the way I am. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."